A Chase to Remember (Marked by Love)

Nayah, that night, felt something unusual. A feeling so deep and indescribable. A feeling that every time she thought about it, she felt more and more shivers beneath her existence. It made her feel the pain, loss, and sacrifices made for love. With Eli, she was sensing and experiencing something she had never felt before. This was such a beautiful emotion that she couldn’t afford to lose; no, Nayah had to learn more about him. What was that shiver that, with his hidden sorrow, made her cold heart beat? That heart hadn’t felt a single beat in centuries, and now it stirred from its long, lethargic sleep.

That night she, became one with the shadows in the backseat of his car. Eli was drowning in an ocean of thoughts, his heart blackened and burned by pain. She was there, crouched like a demon. Her eyes were wide open from the pleasure of a man’s pain who seemed to walk the earth alive but dead on the inside. His spirit sank into an abyss with no escape, bleeding. She was so exhilarated, feeding her shadow with breath through this all.

Many memories still lived there surrounding the car. She turned to her left and saw three seats for children. It was unbelievable how you could still hear their voices and feel Eli’s joy. Oh, the devil. This was a miracle. These suffering memories made her shadow smile like a madwoman. She placed her right hand on her chest, feeling the breath run as if it were in a race. It was there in that misery that the ecstasy hit with the exasperating desire to melt the harshest ice.

In that uncontrollable emotion, she approached delicately with her half-broken body. With one hand, she caressed his hair, her voice breaking the hearts of everyone nearby as they passed by the car.

“Oh, dear Eli, you are so sad and alone. Your pain gives me tears and smiles at the same time. It opens the most beautiful day and the fiercest sunset. Now don’t worry; I am here, with you, for you.”

Eli, of course, could not hear her; the spirit was a shadow living among people like him. Strangely, in those moments, a suffocating feeling of agony engulfed as painful and terrifying as a heart attack. His face was shrouded in a dark veil, his heart shrinking and cowering against unseen, impenetrable walls. His body was frozen like ice. Eyes empty and hopeless. The car moved blindly through the pitch-black darkness. His heart pulsed, but he didn’t feel it had one. His hands moved as if they were not his own. The music played on the radio, but his ears failed to hear it.

The only words he heard were:

“You are such a pity. Useless… motherfucker.”

The conscience was a muted voice in hell. His stomach tightened into a strong knot shaking in pain. A pain that had no respite. Its power was so enormous that it could move mountains and crush stones; make every being on earth and in the sky bleed and scream in anguish.

Nayah had him nearly engulfed in her claws when suddenly, a phone call shattered the smoke swirling around. Awakened from a bad dream, he shook his head and pressed the green button to answer. Were his children calling? Struggling to collect himself briefly, he said, “Get it together, Eli. Gather your strength.”

Finally, with trembling skinny hands, answered the call. Wearing as always, a smile swallowing the pain.

“Oh, my boys. Why are you awake at this hour? It’s too late. You know you have school tomorrow, so you need to get some sleep.”

Impatiently waiting for a response, Matteo said, “Dad, we were waiting for you to call us and say goodnight.”

His voice dropped a notch as the feeling of guilt overwhelmed him. Feeling responsible, he held his head in his hands and replied. “Forgive me, sweetheart; I just wrapped up from work. I’m still on my way home.”

Pausing for a few seconds, thoughts tangled with so many threads, he pondered to himself. “Home! But what about home? Can it be called that without you? How?!”

Flavio, the youngest boy, snatched the phone from his brother’s hand and in a muffled voice said, “Dad, we miss you. When will you come to see us, please? Why aren’t you and Mom talking? We are your children. Please come and see us. When will you come?”

So many questions burst from the boys, and with each one, his spirit shattered further. He swallowed, tried to choose his words, and then answered. “My boys... you know that for Mom and Dad...you are everything. I will speak to Mom and arrange a time for us to meet. Alright? What do you think? Does that sound good?”

Instant smiles appeared on both boys’ faces. Matteo, a bit more restrained, added, “Alright, Dad. Don’t forget that you promised. Now we have to sleep. That’s all we wanted to hear.”

“Big hugs. We love you so much,” Flavio added. With a torn heart, Eli said, “I love you all so much. Sleep peacefully, my boys.”

As he ended the call, a message from his ex-wife lit up the screen: “Eli, we need to discuss the kids. It’s serious. Call me ASAP.”

Eli’s heart pounded. What the hell?

Nayah’s voice crawled through his mind. “Do you think they want you there? You’re a disappointment as a father.”

He shook his head, trying to push her words away. "No, they understand…"

With shaking hands, he typed: “I’m almost home. Can’t it wait?”

Another message immediately popped in. Anxious, Eli parked as a professional racer and ran to open the apartment door.

Nayah got closer; with her cold breath against his ear, crazy smiling murmured: “You know she won’t let this go. You’re just delaying the inevitable.”

Eli felt the familiar sting of guilt but pushed it aside. “This isn’t happening. I need to focus.” He looked around, feeling her dark energy twirling like a storm.

“What truth are you talking about?” Eli jerked at Nayah, his voice resounding in the empty room.

She smirked, her eyes sparkling with bitterness. “What would they think if they knew about your past? The mess you’ve done?”

Suddenly, another buzz from his phone dragged his attention. He glanced down: “Please, Eli. I need you to take this seriously.”

His eyes bulged as he paced nervously in the small kitchen. Shouting grabbed the phone and slammed it hard against the wall, shattering it to pieces. His legs gave way and fell to the ground. The terrible cries would send a tremor through anyone who heard them. Oh, the screams could break even the darkest soul that ever existed.

A black shadow surrounded his body as he sat on the carpet. Breathing seemed to disappear—sometimes heavy and deep, other times barely silent. Feeling as heavy as a truck, his head rested between the legs, hands clutching his knees. Eli punched his body repeatedly. Just as he was about to scream, he stuffed his right fist into his mouth, crying through his tears. The shadow of the devil seemed to observe its strength, letting him weaken. That maleficent smile would terrify anyone if they were able to see it.

Then... she circled him, whispering at first, but soon a terrible howl assaulted his ears.

‘You are nothing. How could you? Forgetting?! Are you stupid? You don’t deserve to live or even breathe on this earth. Do you hear me? You are worthless!’

With a chilling shriek and a hit to his head, Eli cried out, “NO, NO! I loved her, no! This isn’t true. Enough!”

His head, as heavy as lead, was too difficult to lift, and his eyes caught a glimpse of a shadow down the corridor. He froze, wiped his eyes, and questioned whether his mind was creating illusions or something else.

Eli's lungs were no longer filling with air, his ribs pressing tighter against the chest. The phone kept ringing. Cold sweat covered a pale, lifeless face, no pulse running through the veins. Eli opened the fridge, grabbed a beer, and downed it in one gulp. Then another, and another, until he fell dead on the floor.

Even then, that damned phone didn’t stop. That beautiful, terrifying witch burst into laughter, sending chills deep into the hidden corners of his soul.

When he lost consciousness, her hands, black-like sticks, touched his sweaty forehead.

“Now you’re mine! You can’t escape me anymore!”

Her voice had transformed. It was no longer the one Eli had once heard, no. This one was entirely different. A sound that could raise even the dead from their graves. It could torture you and then bring you back to life. Her voice, but especially her touch—oh, that was fatal. She pulled his soul from his body, then slipped inside him.

Eli found himself captured by the terror of the darkness, and within it, he glimpsed a figure. In that pitch-black pool, it wasn’t just a figure—there were people.

A trembling, faint voice cried out in desperation, “Daddy, daddy. Save me! I'm here! Can you hear me?”

Straining to listen for where that voice—or voices—were coming from, Eli began to walk slowly, then rushed toward them. The darkness was suffocating, but he knew those voices. Stumbling blindly, tripped over something, and, limping, stood up again.

“I'm here, I'm coming! he cried out frantically.”

But the closer he got, the further the voices seemed to drift away."

Eli's breath grew shallower; there was no oxygen. He couldn’t hold on much longer but refused to give up. They had faith in him, and he would help them.

Gasping from the pain, it felt as though he was drawing closer to the voices. For a moment, he thought he saw two black shadows kneeling with their heads bowed. He approached but couldn't make out who they were—yet his heart told him they were his sons.

Clenching his teeth, he tried to kneel, extending his left hand while using the other to steady himself on the ground to avoid falling. Neither face was visible.

To his left, he struggled to discern who it was—Matteo or Flavio. Unable to make out their identity, moved even closer. A soft voice came from Flavio's direction.

“You made it! Thank you for looking for us. But…do not forget about something…We are DEAD!!! followed by a chilling laugh.

On the other side was Matteo, but he too wasn’t himself. Some powerful hands, strong enough to break through concrete, pushed him several meters away.

“NO! NO!” A shocked, painful scream tore from Eli.

Shaking their head, they both screamed in unison, “You killed us. YOU!”

“No,” he responded, his mouth open but mute. Suddenly, his voice began to fade away. No matter how terrified he felt, he couldn’t scream anymore. Something was choking him. He tried several times to force a sound out, but nothing. He was screaming in silence.

Then, they both climbed on top of him, putting their hands around his neck. Eli was helpless; his body could not fight his children—he couldn’t do it.

“You killed us! Now it’s your turn!” their voices sounded so real, so tangible. The satisfaction gleamed in their wide, staring eyes. Their small yet powerful hands tightened around his thin, strained neck.

He gave up... Letting himself go, and then… silence. He wasn’t breathing anymore.

Nayah, meanwhile, hovered by his head, frozen for a moment. It was not because she felt sorry for him, but because it was over quickly. It wasn’t enough. This was just the beginning. She removed her hand from his forehead, and immediately his chest heaved with breath, rising so high it almost burst.

Soaked in cold sweat, he opened his eyes. Like a flashlight, he thought he saw a shadow. The phone kept ringing, seeming ready to explode at that moment.

He couldn’t believe that all that agony was just a dream. Or was it? His mind was now playing a filthy twisted game...